Thursday, February 16, 2017

(SHAPE) The new US Defence Secretary James Mattis has told fellow NATO
members to increase military spending by the end of the year, or risk seeing
the US curtail its defence support. The ultimatum came during
Mattis' first visit to the NATO headquarters in Brussels, since he was sworn in
last month.

“America will meet its responsibilities, but if your nations do not want to see America moderate its commitment to this alliance, each of your capitals needs to show support for our common defence.”

He told the alliance's 27 other defence ministers to set dates for their governments to meet a military funding goal of two
percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Mattis's message to his counterparts
in Brussels follows years of demands by the US for allies to spend at least two
percent of their GDP on defence, a goal that only a handful meet despite
agreeing on it at a summit in 2014. Spending by NATO countries is as follows: